New Beginnings
by MyBrownHairedGirl
Summary: As anxious New Yorkers wait for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve, Bella Swan can't share their excitement. Will a chance encounter with a certain green-eyed stranger give her the new beginning she didn't know she was waiting for?


**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

….

Bella swayed with the crowd as they waited impatiently for the New Year to start. Her eyes were on the Times Square Ball, the clock's resting place at 11:43pm only 17 minutes away from 2013. While her fellow New Yorkers jittered with excitement around her, she was less then enthused.

She didn't particularly feel as joyous as they did. 2012 had been an awful year, and she didn't expect 2013 to be any different. What difference would 12 months make? She would still have no one, work a dead end job, and live in a crappy, studio apartment. Her Master's degree would hang on the wall, collecting dust, with no use.

Bella's eyes began to burn slightly as she hadn't blinked in a while, so she turned her gaze to ground. Hundreds of shoes filled her vision, some as regular as old converse while others were eccentric with 'Happy New Year's 2013' designs. Her own shoes were simple blue Asics, picked out for their comfy insides.

Time had passed and now it was 11:52pm. Bella was mildly surprised; it appeared she had spent 9 minutes looking at feet! A small smile graced her face at her lack of perception. Just then though, a large body of lean muscle bumped into her, causing the jug of beer the bumper was nursing to splash onto her Christmas themed scarf and shirt.

She gasped from the sudden cold, wet stain and look up angrily into the face of her bumper. A man with stunning green eyes and an apologetic look stared down at her sheepishly.

"Sorry love, I'm a bit tipsy!" He apologized with boyish cheer. He was too happy for someone who looked sorry. Bella crossed her arms over the stain and narrowed her eyes up at him.

"I can see that," She said sternly. "You should watch where you wave that mug, especially if it's full and there are a lot of people around."

Even as she reprimanded this man, she couldn't help but notice his features. He was a good head taller than her, had pink bow lips that were stretched in a smile and bushy eyebrows that matched then color of his wild bronze hair. She could tell it was untamed underneath his stocking hat from the way it peaked out at random angles, framing his face.

"Oh, fiery are we, love? Let me get that for ya'," From his pocket, he pulled out a green handkerchief that had white letters on it. Without warning or asking her, he rubbed her chest where he had spilled beer on her chest, his hand pushing around her arms.

Bella's eyes widened and she gasped as this handsome stranger touched her chest without her permission! Before she even thought about it, her hand raised and she smacked the stranger's hand away.

"Oh my god! Did you just touch my breasts?!" She yelled in shock. Nearly no one looked at her for her outburst. The stranger bit his lip and held his handkerchief holding hand tightly against his chest.

"Oh, is that still considered offensive? I'm sorry love, I was just trying to wipe the stain before it set and chilled your bosom. I didn't mean to make you feel violated!" He stuffed his handkerchief back in his pocket and stuck out his hand to her.

"Here, I'm Edward Cullen, and you are love?" Bella couldn't even speak. Did he really just say 'bosom'? Why did he keep calling her love? Was that an accent she detected, or was the cheap champagne she had earlier getting to her head? Edward was still staring down at her, his hand waiting to be shaken by hers. She shook her head a little to clear whatever mess was going on up there.

"Um, it's okay, I just get touchy sometimes when strangers touch me without my permission. Uh…I'm Bella Swan." She said as she shook Edward's hand.

"Okay, good, I was worried I might've offended ya'. Enjoying the celebration?" He steered the conversation away from further awkwardness.

Bella couldn't say that she was actually having a horrible time, so she lied. "Yeah, it's great isn't it? New York at New Year's . . . nothing better." She smiled feebly.

From Edward's sudden change of expression from happiness to slight concern, Bella could tell she had done a less than stellar job at hiding her true feelings.

"Ya' sure? You don't seem nearly as excited as some of these people here look." He said softly for some reason. Bella was instantly confused, how had this guy picked up on her mood so quickly after 3 minutes of knowing her while her own parents couldn't do it after 28 years?

"Oh yeah, well, it's been a tough year for me. Not the best, but not the worst." She said distantly. She glanced down at her Asics, Edward's gaze too much to bear while she thought about the past year.

Suddenly, she felt a warm, glove covered hand underneath her chin, raising her face to look up at Edward. His happy grin was now sad, the corners of his mouth turned up but his face down.

"Trust me love, I know all about bad years, but ya' know what? New Year's is a great time to start anew seeing as with a new year, you can start over again if you're not happy. Hell, that's what I did back in '06 when I left med school to open up my own bar." His eyes were now alight with passion as he spoke about new beginnings.

For those few seconds, Bella felt the passion Edward felt as thoughts of what a new life would do to her flooded her mind. But, soon Bella came back down to Earth from the clouds of her dreams. To start anew, you had to have money and she didn't have a lot of that at the moment.

"Sounds wonderful," She said wistfully. Edward's thumb gently stroked her chin, lulling her into his embrace. Startled, she realized she was lightly pressed against him, his beer mug holding hand wrapped around her waist.

"What am I doing?" She wondered aloud in a murmur, her eyes flitting from Edward's eyes to his lips.

She saw him smile widely, all previous signs of sadness absent from his face.

"Why, you're starting anew love!" He said, drunk with bliss with her closeness. Bella could see it in his eyes, which made her own gleam brightly.

In the background, Bella could hear people counting back from 3 to the New Year. She gripped Edward's broad shoulders in her hands and thought to herself, _did I really just meet this guy less than 10 minutes ago?_

Edward's face abruptly came down to hers, his lips moistened from him licking them. She leaned up towards him and sighed as their lips connected. Cheers, hoots, and hollers broke out around her as she kissed Edward passionately, 2013 being ushered in.

_Maybe Edward's onto something with this new beginnings stuff, _Bella mused as her life changed with a single kiss.

…

**Even though I should be doing '**_**The Good Life'**_**, I couldn't resist writing some New Year's fluff. Happy New Year everyone, hope 2013 will be a good one for all of you, full of new beginnings!**


End file.
